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The Security Studies Program aims to educate future analysts, policymakers, and researchers to approach 21st-century security challenges with analytical rigor and ethical consideration. SSP provides an interdisciplinary master's program that equips graduates for careers in defense and security, featuring a diverse curriculum with courses spanning multiple disciplines. Students leverage their undergraduate theoretical foundations to tackle real-world policy issues, while experienced professionals from military, intelligence, and defense sectors complement their practical expertise with advanced analytical and theoretical frameworks. With intentionally limited class sizes, SSP fosters collaborative learning among students and faculty. The program actively supports working professionals by offering evening courses and events to accommodate their schedules.
The U.S. National Security Policy specialization equips students to assess critical security issues and comprehend U.S. policy formulation processes. Curriculum components analyze all instruments of national power—military, diplomatic, intelligence, and economic—while exploring the political realities that often create disparities between recommended and implemented policies. Foundational courses address congressional influence on security matters and the interplay between budgeting, policy, and strategic planning. The concentration thoroughly examines global and regional security threats facing the United States, along with contemporary debates about potential solutions.